Kisvárda - Castle

The town got its name ("Little Fortress") from the castle which was built c 1400 and enlarged in the 16th and 17th C into a fortified palace with four corner-towers and a covered walk on the side facing the courtyard. In the 18th C, when it no longer served its original purpose, the people of Kisvárda pulled it down and used the stone to build the new Catholic church and to rebuild fire-damaged houses, until the authorities put a stop to it in 1828. The castle was restored in 1957-61, and a lapidarium installed in the tower at the southeast corner.